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When did we lose our humanity?

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700 dead on our doorstep, yet hardly a ripple is made in our lives. Just another disaster to switch the TV over to avoid. We’d rather sign a petition to save Jeremy Clarkson than to protect our ex-servicemen and women. We let a gang of white middle class people decide our lives. We ignore the terrible air pollution that makes its way across the continent yet baulk at the idea of doing something about climate change. When did we lose our humanity?

We live in a world of 24 hour news so stories move on a lot quicker than they used to, but to ignore the deaths of those trying to escape North Africa because of the mass murder, attacks rape and ethnic cleansing seems heartless. Politicians will doff their caps in recognition but to speak out properly about it they are scared they will turn off voters at this point in the election campaign. For me if one of them actually said and did something about it they’d be more likely to get my vote. Those who traffic these people make $1m per boat, yet the EU spends $3m to patrol the area – you do the maths.

Why does it take a comedian like Ricky Gervais to point out the ridiculous situation of allowing hunters to kill endangered species to save endangered species? I love Ricky and all his work – but again where are the voices of those in power with the ability to do something about it? We have a ludicrous situation where a small group of soldiers are now guarding the last male black rhino. At the same time no one seems to care about the wiping out of amphibious species across South America and the ever decreasing bee population.

I think it’s because we don’t actually care about anything anymore. Just look at the politicians we have. The seven who stood at the podiums are all pretty useless, personality vacuums who offer nothing new, radical and challenging. The Tories are jobs for the boys, keep the rich rich and the poor quiet; Labour is no longer about the working man or woman they are competing with the Tories on their own ground; Lib Dems stand in the centre trying to please everyone; UKIP offer nothing new either really, it might appear radical but how different are they from the Tories? Then SNP & Plaid are lurking with the potential to hold whoever gets in by the balls, but will achieve little. We get the politicians we deserve.

The Republicans in the US would rather bomb Iran than speak to them; ISIS continue to rape and murder their way across the Middle East; the widening unrest in the region is causing confusion and new factions and enemies every other day; Israel continues to refuse Palestine recognition of the right to the land they live on; and we stand back relieved that we’re not sending our soldiers in. Well done us!

Sure if a charity bucket is passed round we’ll pop a few quid in because that clears our conscience for ten minutes – not actually having to do something. Do you know who is the most giving country? The US and Burma are the most generous – yet would you trust the US to actually make a solid difference anywhere these days. It’s about more than giving.

Unless we as the population of the UK, Europe or the wider world start to stand up and call out the mistreatment of others, countries, indigenous people, wildlife populations and human right violations – and then DO something about it we will continue this headlong march into bland beige blindness. As long as you are comfy, fuck the rest of them. Right?